Take Aways

I had a lot of time to think and do nothing while at the hospital. Once I hobbled home last Tuesday, I was sharing all my "take aways" that I had from being in the hospital. It most definitely was one of my darkest weeks, however I did learn a lot.

I learned that...

I will NEVER take my back for granted. I couldn't even move my toes without straining my back at first. I soon came to realize that I just had to lay there in pain and try NOT to move at all, or else it would be extremely painful.

I was completely humbled by the entire experience. I had to rely on the nurses for everything. It was really hard for me. I wanted so badly to do things on my own. For the first 3 days, I was completely having to go to the bathroom on a bedpan. This was not an easy task. I had to hold onto the left side of my bed and try to turn myself on my side. The nurse had to carefully help me roll on my back and the bedpan. I couldn't even wipe myself during these 3 days! In the mornings the nurses would come in and strip my clothes off and give me a sponge bath. Horrible. I needed help changing my clothes, etc.

I miss my kids and husband terribly. Oh how I missed them. I wanted to be at home playing with them, feeding them and putting them to bed. It broke my heart a little to be so near, yet so far away. I am so thankful for Abe. He is such a good little Mr. Mom. He was shuttling the kids around, picking up the house, doing laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, etc. I wished that I could have him to myself at the hospital, but of course it was best for him to be at home with the kids.

I need to always follow through with what I promise. One experience made me think about this a lot. I can't remember which day it was, but I think it was Sunday. I had told my nurse first thing in the morning that I really wanted to take a shower. She promised me that she would come and help me take a shower, but I needed to wait until after breakfast. After breakfast, I asked her again and she told me to wait a couple more hours because she didn't have time. After a couple more hours, she said she still didn't have time. I was very emotional and super frustrated. I just wanted to wash my nasty hair and feel clean. I finally got her to help me on my little wheely chair and in the shower and told her I didn't need her help and pretty much did it on my own while sitting down. It made me think of my cute little girls and how they must feel when I keep telling them to "hold on" or "in a minute" and then don't follow through the first time.

Hospital food in Germany SUCKS. Luckily I had a friend that brought me 2 yummy meals a day for 3 days, another meal from a friend and some treats snuck in. I probably would have starved if not!

Breakfast

lunch, along with a couple other things

Dinner, with a brotchen of course....


Looks delicious, doesn't it?

I have great friends. I was amazed at how much support we had. I had a plethora of visitors while in the hospital. When I got out of the hospital, I had a handful of meals brought over. The first day Abe had to go back to work and I still couldn't do very much, I had friends help out with my kids. My friend Kelsey even came and vacuumed and moped my floors!

I love my savior and am so thankful for the atonement. I never have felt so much pain in my life (of course childbirth would be #2) and it was really lonely and depressing. However, thinking about my savior and knowing that he understood all my pain was really comforting. Of course this was right before Easter, so it was in my thoughts even more.